Nikki Haley Cleans Up in Dixville Notch

Tiny New Hampshire town has been holding midnight votes since 1960
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2024 5:07 PM CST
Updated Jan 22, 2024 11:17 PM CST
Dixville Notch Prepares to Cast Nation's First Primary Ballots
Town moderator Tom Tillotson stands at the tally board after voters cast their ballots at midnight in the presidential primary election, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, in Dixville Notch, NH. All six votes went for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
UPDATE Jan 22, 2024 11:17 PM CST

And the winner, in Dixville Notch at least, is Nikki Haley. The small New Hampshire town opened its polls at midnight Tuesday, as per tradition, and all six of its voters voted for the former South Carolina governor, according to 270toWin. Haley called the Dixville Notch win "a great start to a great day in New Hampshire," per Politico reporter Lisa Kashinsky. The rest of the state will vote during normal polling hours later Tuesday.

Jan 22, 2024 5:07 PM CST

The tiny New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch will once again be in the spotlight at midnight, when it casts the first votes in the nation's first primary. Politico reports that there are six registered voters in the community near the Canadian border—four Republicans and two independents—who are allowed to vote in primaries in New Hampshire. Dixville Notch has been holding midnight votes since 1960. Two small towns in the state that have held midnight votes in the past, Hart's Location and Millsfield, have decided to break with the tradition this year and vote during normal polling hours, reports NBC Boston.

The town—which requires five voters to serve as election workers—is allowed to report its results shortly after midnight under a rule that allows a polling place to close when all registered voters have cast their ballots. "That's the only reason why they can report their results so early," John Lappie, a political science professor at Plymouth State University, tells CBS News. "If even one registered voter in the community doesn't play ball, then you can't announce the results shortly after midnight, like they do." In the rest of the state, initial results will be reported soon after polls close at 7pm Eastern on Tuesday, the New York Times reports. (More Election 2024 stories.)

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